David's Daily Dish: Save yourself a trip to the store, make your pumpkin pie spice at home (with recipe)

Pumpkins are popping up all over the place in very large numbers. The sight of all that orange makes me crave something extra special and sweet. (File photo)

It’s October so I feel like I should be eating pumpkin at every meal, including breakfast.

Under normal circumstances I’m not much of a pumpkin eater but there’s something about the month of October that brings out some innate craving for something flavored with pumpkins. Maybe it’s all the muted oranges and brown hues that are popping up everywhere from fancy door decorations to the gently changing leaves.

More likely, though, my pumpkin cravings were triggered by the massive pumpkin patches that sprang up overnight outside local a church. This particular two-acre patch of orange just happens to be on my chosen route to work so I suppose it was inevitable.

Or maybe it is something else, something much more sinister. Maybe, just maybe, this yen for something flavored with pumpkin is the first quantifiable evidence that the holidays are looming on the horizon.

I’m not going to think about that last scenario just yet. I simply can’t.

First, though, what exactly is this thing that we call pumpkin pie spice? (My first thought was it was member of a British singing group but I quickly discovered that I was, once again, misinformed.)

According to my sources (the interweb), pumpkin pie spiced is loosely defined as a blend of powdered spices, including cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.

It is sold commercially in those teeny-tiny little plastic bottles. You know the ones, it’s the ones that you use once or twice for pie (usually this time of year) and then put back in the pantry until next year.

Of if you’re like me, you have a half dozen of them in the spice rack. I’m way too lazy to look for last year’s spice; it’s much easier to spend a couple of bucks for a new one every 11 months or so. (Mace, marjoram, cardamom and cloves are the other members of the lonely spice club in my larder.)

As the name would infer, pumpkin pie spiced is most often used in making pumpkin pies. It is not limited to this use; my wife uses it to add zip to sweet potato pies and sweet potato casseroles.

In researching this ubiquitous cool weather I found out that you don’t have to run out to the store on every occasion when pumpkin pie spice is called for. You can make your own at home, fresh and ready to go when you need it.

I found this recipe on the Internet in a number of locations.

Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoons ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Combine all ingredients. If you make extra, store in an airtight container.

That’s all there is to it. So the next time you get a craving for a pumpkin (or in my case, sweet potato) pie, don’t have to run off to the store.

OK, now that we’ve got our spice mixed up, how about using it in something? It is, after all, October.

This recipe comes from Betty Crocker’s “The Big Book of Pies and Tarts,” a great resource for all things pie-like. Not technically a pie, it is nonetheless very tasty.

Unroll pie crust in a 9x13-inch pan. Press crust in bottom and ¼ inch up sides of pan, cutting to fit; press seams firmly to seal. DO NOT PRICK CRUST. Bake 10 minutes. Immediately press bubbles down with back of wooden spoon.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. In large bowl, beat all filling ingredients with whisk until blended. Pour over partially baked crust.